There's No Once Upon a Time in Real Life
by whenxXxshexXxcries
Summary: Summary: Bella is running from her old life when she is taken prisoner by an evil, ruthless pirate crew. Quickly, she finds that the cruel pirates might just be running from something, too. But when things start to heat up, can she love one?
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Bella is running from her old life when she is taken prisoner by an evil, ruthless pirate crew. Quickly, she finds that the cruel pirates might just be running from something, too. But when things start to heat up, can she love one?**

**Im just gonna try this one out. please review to let me know if i should keep going with this story! **

"Prepare for battle!"

Huh?

I snapped up in my dank cot, the bandana holding my hair from sight almost coming loose. Quickly, I tightened it as the men around me drowsily pulled their boots onto the wrong feet and hitched their swords onto their belts.

Battle? What for? All I'd expected when I snuck onto this ship was an easy passage out of my country and to a far, far away place. No one had said anything about fighting.  
I wasn't afraid, though. How could I be? I'd learned how to fight for myself at a very young age. When you're alone and everyone's against you, that's all that you can really do. I'd survived this long. Hopefully my rough past was enough to get through another battle with another country's navy. I was probably better than all of these sailors on this trading ship, and I'd seen navy ships fight before. I was sure I could take them.

As I yanked my own boots on and found my own sword, the area around me cleared as the men raced loudly onto the main deck. Now, without their eyes, I was able to tighten the cloth around my chest and slip my personal dagger into the pocket I had sewn into the inside of my left boot.

I hurried upstairs, ready to fight. The deck was swarming with busy sailors, and the moonlight flickered on their worried faces. I saw their eyes glance out at sea, and I followed their gaze to see... a pirate ship. The pirate ship. Not the navy, but a pirate ship, filled with unorganized, treasure seeking men. This wasn't just any pirate ship, either. It was the ship that even I had heard of, in my far away land. A name renounced for its winning ability. It had never lost a battle. In a way, I was rather awestruck at the sight of it. But I was also afraid. I wasn't so confident about my fighting abilities now, now that I was up against the Dark Water.

But I'd made it this far, and if I had to die, I'd do so only after giving every ounce of energy trying to survive.

Adrenaline pumped through my blood, mingling with a tang of fear, as the forboding ship drew nearer and nearer. The moon was brighter than ever when they pulled right besides us, close enough that its railing bumped against ours, rocking the ship and making me wobble.

"Hold your ground, men," my captain, Captain Eric, commanded from in front of me. I briefly admired his bravery under the circumstances. He could be cowering in the back somewhere, but instead he stood front and center, ready to face his doom.

Realization hit me. I probably wouldn't be making it past this night. But I had to try.

"Ready, Bert?" It took me a second to recognize the name I was using. I turned to Tyler, who had said it. Tyler had been the closest I'd gotten to anyone so far, and now I wouldn't have the chance to make friends with anyone else. I swallowed hard before I spoke in my deep whisper.

"No, but who really is?"

Our eyes met and we exchanged a knowing glance, his dark eyes reflecting the moon.

"Prepare yourselves." The voice came from Captain Eric, and I stood on my toes to see over the heads in front of me. I nearly fell over with surprise when I saw that their ship's deck was empty except for five men, one of them approaching our ship's railing.

I glared forward, waiting, my stance ready to run forward if there was a surprise attack from their side.

A voice was raised in the silence.

"If you surrender your ship and crew to me now, I may spare your lives," the voice said, and I assumed it was the Dark Water's captain.

"We are nothing but a trading ship, and I do not see what you could want from us," Captain Eric replied.

"You have goods stored on this ship, do you not? Now, what will it be? Will you surrender?"

A short pause went by before there was noise again.

"My crew does not fear your thieves and criminals," he said. I felt the air around me move as the crew slightly stirred. They were incredibly afraid. And their fear was only making mine worse. But still, we stood our ground and held our hands on our hilts, waiting.

"Very well. Then we will fight, and you will lose."

I heard it before the others, I guess, because within seconds the deck was flooded with men pouring out of our ship's lower decks and at least ten of our forty man crew were slain. I only just in time whipped around to face one that was about to kill me.

Our swords clashed, the first of them all, but others immediately followed around us. I was faintly aware of Tyler's bleeding body to my side as I fought my pirate opponent. Because I had responded so quickly, I held the advantage, and I saw his corpse fall upon my dead friend's soon enough.

I barely had enough time to move away from the bodies before another pirate came at me. I caught a glimpse of him as we moved. He was in his thirties and had already graying hair from the stress of constantly fighting, I guessed.

His sword shot out at me and I leaned to the side, avoiding it and counter-attacking it with my own sword, which I noticed was considerably lighter looking than his. He swung his weapon out to defend himself, and when the metal met mine, I felt it vibrate from the force, going all the way down to my shoulder. This shocked me for a moment, and he saw his opportunity, taking a swipe at my stomach.

"Ah!"

I jumped back as fast as I could, but not fast enough. Though the blow wouldn't be fatal, it still had struck me across the lower part of my ribcage, stinging like hell.

I didn't have any time to dwell on the pain, though, as my opponent realized that I wasn't going to die from his hit and attacked again.

But now I was mad, and the adrenaline was burning me from the inside out. That had been a close call that had nearly destroyed fifteen years of working my ass off to keep breathing.

My sword met his again, more powerfully than before, and I felt the rage twisting my face as the vibrations shot up my arm again. This time I did not hesitate to continue fighting, though, and I quickly ducked down for a swipe at his legs, which split open enough to distract him from attacking. I took advantage of this and plunged my sword through his chest, ending his life to save my own.

Without stopping to catch my breath or check if my wound was too bad, I searched the screaming, blood-filled scene around me for another victim to take my hatred out on. After killing three more, I heard it.

"Help! Bert!" someone cried out behind me, and I raced quickly to the source to assist my crewmate, Tomas, who was weaponless and facing his death.

I hit the pirate on the side of the head as hard as I could manage, grunting as the flat side of my sword made him collapse, whether unconcious or dead I didn't know. I didn't have time to find out, either.

I saw the look of panic come over my saved crewmate's face as a shadow flitted toward me in the moonlight. I ducked right in time, the attacking pirate tumbling smoothly over me, his sword meeting nothing but air where my throat had been, and he was immediately rolling back onto his feet in the blink of an eye.

Resisting the sudden urge to stick my tongue out at him, I twisted my sword through the night air at him, and he ducked out of the way, bringing his sword around his head and at me more quickly than I was expecting. I tried to spin away while bringing my sword around again, but his sword's tip caught on the back of my shoulder as I spun, drawing a line across my shoulder blades to my other arm. I lost my balance, having to step too close to him to regain it. He was ready to deliver the death blow.

"No!"

Another sword collided with his, and I saw Tomas holding its hilt; I had saved him, he saved me. Quickly, Tomas was disarmed and his throat was cut open. I was slightly shocked, but it only made me realize how dangerous of a situation I had gotten myself into. I was going to get on top of my game, and fast, unless I wanted even deeper wounds.

I tried my classic move, smoothly swinging my weapon at his legs. Just as smoothly, he jumped over it, twisting his sword back toward my side as I was ducked over.

I didn't have time to stand up, so I did a sort of side twist in the air as it went right under me.

"Nice," I heard him mutter as our swords clanged together again. I could hear him panting, and I was sure that he could hear me doing the same. Faintly, I could see his green eyes gleaming with excitement in the moonlight. He found this exciting? I sure didn't

I heard a pained scream right behind me, but I didn't dare to even acknowledge it as he started using a new tactic, trying to get closer to me for a deadly blow. He stepped forward as he swung, and I had no choice but to lean back as far as I could as I stepped back. My back hit the railing and I nearly fell overboard, but I rolled around so that I was facing him again, immediately launching my own attack, getting so close to him that I could feel his shirt's sleeve against mine and spinning around him so that he was the one back against the railing.

"Tricky, aren't you?" he said, a playful yet pained tone to his voice, and I knew that he was just trying to distract me. He was too focused.

"Aren't you a bit young to be working on a traders' ship?" He swung his sword at my throat, but I met his attack, shoving the sword away from my body. In that movement, he pushed into me, trying to push me over, but I recovered, holding my sword out, waiting for the next move. My face was distorted from concentration, and I was upset. I was extremely well matched. That wasn't a good thing. Would this battle ever end?

He made the next move, trying to copy me by swinging at my shins. I copied him, then, jumping over them and bringing my sword down at him. He spun out of the way, but I caught his hip. I heard him grunt, but he did not pause as he kicked out at me with his foot.

So that's how it was going to be.

I avoided his oncoming boot and grabbed the leg, twisting it around so he lost his balance and fell onto his hands and knees on the blood-stained deck. I saw my opportunity as his grip on his sword slipped in the light of the moon, and I kicked it out of the way as hard as I could as he tried to get back up and held my own sword-tip to his throat. He realized how close he was to death and put his hands up, surrendering. All traces of playfulness were gone now, and I was about to cut his exposed throat open when I caught his stare.

His green eyes were filled with sadness and defeat as he stared at me, his soon-to-be killer. Sweat shimmered on his face in the moonlight, and he was panting. He looked young, perhaps eighteen or so, and I felt myself blush slightly under his intense gaze.

He must have noticed this, because confusion was added to the emotions I saw in his face. That made me slightly angry and quite a bit nervous. I knew I had to end it. He was about to twist my sword out of my hands and plunge it through me, so I'd better act fast. That's what all of my rough years had taught me.

I brought the sword back, ready to swing it, when I heard cheers go up around me suddenly.

"We've done it! Battle's over, boys!"

I didn't recognize the voice, so I glance quickly over to where the opposing captain had his foot on Captain Eric's lifeless body. They had won.

Before I could even lower my sword, my other arm was twisted around my back and my grip on the sword faltered. It fell to the ground, bouncing twice.

"Arh!" I grunted in pain, hunching over to try and get the man to let go.

"That was far too close for my liking," the man holding me said as cheers went up around us. I glanced around to see the same green eyes I had been about to end seconds ago. "You are very good, though. I'm sure you'll sell for a pretty penny somewhere." He grabbed my other arm, holding it behind my back, too.

I felt fear twist itself into my face and heart as he began to push me along.

Only now did I look around. Our crew was nearly completely destroyed. Only seven remained, and I was one of them. Bodies from both sides, mostly ours, littered the ship's deck and were now being thrown overboard. The pirates were already hauling our goods over to their ship, which was still positioned right next to ours.

We walked over to that side.

"Unless you want this to hurt, you should help me get you over these railings," my captor said. Now I knew how he must have felt a minute ago, because I felt utterly defeated. He was still going to get me onto his ship, whether he had to drag me or throw me, so I let him help me stand on one railing, his hands tight around my wrists behind me, and I jumped at his command onto their ship's deck. It was much cleaner that ours.

All around us, gruff pirates carried things below deck.

"Edward!"

The man holding me, Edward it turns out, spun us both around to locate the voice. I tried to stop myself from wincing in pain, but it still slightly showed.

Two men, about the same age as Edward, walked over to us.

"What have you got there?" The bigger, scary looking one said. I knew that if I had been faced against him, I wouldn't be here right now. He was pure muscle.

"A survivor. Something that I nearly wasn't, today," Edward explained to them. I looked at the ground. I would've killed him, too.

"You can tell us about it later. He looks like a young one. 'at'll be good, I suppose," the other man, a blonde one, said, frowning.

I heard Edward's intake of breath, like he was going to say something, but he didn't get the chance.

"Check in your survivors!" someone yelled.

"I guess I'll talk to you guys more later. Gotta check him in now," my captor told his crewmates.

Quickly and somewhat roughly, he began to move us to the other six pairs of people. The sudden movement made me gasp in pain as it twisted my wounds, the one across my back and the one across my lower ribcage. I was suddenly aware of the wet feeling of blood around the areas.

Edward must have noticed, because he said, "We'll get you cleaned up soon, but it might be a day or so."

They couldn't do that, or they would realize I wasn't a boy. I would have to find a place to hide on the ship before they came. I was very good at finding hiding holes. I'd been doing it forever.

After my description had been recorded by a man with a harsh face, and my name (I had told him it was Bert), Edward led me down two flights of stairs to the cells. There were probably about thirty-something men in there, eight to a cell. I was added to the cell that was being filled with the new prisoners. There had already been five men in there, though, so only three of us went in there. I didn't know anyone.

"Like I said," Edward said as he shoved me in the cell, "someone'll be around in a day or so to clean your wounds up. The crew's gotten be tended to, first."

He slammed the cell door shut, turning away. He paused midturn, though, and looked back at me.

"You are a good fighter, though. I wasn't 're young and strong. You should make it."

With that he left up the stairs, my eyes and at least two dozen others' eyes following him.

Seeing the blood around his hip gave me a smug feeling that stayed with me until I fell asleep minutes later.

**should i keep going with it? please review and tell me, even if you hated it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I had this typed up a few days ago, but then there was Thanksgiving. which I hope was good for all. so here it is...**

I had let myself sleep for a long time, too long perhaps. I was running out of time to come up with a decent plan for getting out, which was what I was trying to do now. I could see the sun outside the window nearly touching the waves, it was so late. It hadn't been a full day yet, but I still didn't know how long I had. If they found out that I was a girl... well, they were crude pirates, and I had a pretty decent idea of what would happen to me, and I sure as hell didn't like it. I would probably be sold as something other than a worker, too, and that was just as bad.

In my head, I was having a debate with myself. Could I squeeze out the window? Even if I could, I didn't want to fall. I'd have to find a way to climb up to the main deck. Most ships weren't perfectly put-together or built vertically, so it was quite likely that if I could get out there, I would find some planks of wood to use to scale up.

This was all if I could get out there, but the bars of the cells were to small (I'd already tried those), and I couldn't seem to pick the lock with anything. Nothing was loose, either. These pirates put great effort into making sure their prisoners could not escape.

In the end, I decided I would try and squeeze through the window, but I would have to wait until the others started to nod off. It was a risk waiting, but I also didn't want one of them to see me and do something stupid.

So I waited, sitting on the grimy boards of the ground and watching outside the small window as the sun sank. The whole time I was holding my breath, just waiting to hear creaks on the stairs as someone came down for us... for me.

Someone had to be looking out for me, though, because no one came, and soon enough the other captured sailors around me slumped over where they sat. There were still a few awake, but by that time it was dark enough that they wouldn't really see me.

I had already heard enough creaks above me to guess that most of the pirates had got to bed, too.

I set my unoriginal plan into action, walking as slowly as maple syrup over to the window so that I wouldn't make a noise. Working on a ship had made me strong, so I didn't have too much trouble hoisting myself up some into the window sill. I stuck my foot into a loose plank and pushed my head and one arm through. The other arm was harder to do, but once I got it through I was able to move a little bit.

And then I looked down.

Though it was only lit up by the moon and stars, I could see the water about ten feet below me, dark and shadow-filled. The wind slightly rippled my shirt, and I shivered. After nearly drowning a few years ago, I had an unexplainable fear of deep waters... like the ocean. You'd think staying on a ship for a month would've helped, but it didn't.

I began to shake slightly, and I had to take a few breaths to stop. _It's okay, Bella. You've done stuff like this before._

Silently, I twisted my upper body around, my foot still propped up in the inside. I blindly groped for a handhold, and found a decent one a bit of a way up. Once I gripped that, I slid the rest of my body out, very very carefully putting my feet on the edge of the window and standing, hugging the ship's disgusting side.

I paused for a second, listening above for voices from the main deck. There were a couple quiet murmurs, but it sounded like only two to four men were up there. It would be easy to flit past them and behind something once I reached the main deck. From there, I would look around for a better hiding place.

At first, climbing up the side of the ship was easy. I had decent hand and foot holds in the wood, but I was still getting splinters. But about halfway there, I began to tremble from the effort it was taking for me to hold myself up by my fingertips.

I tried to stop until they stopped, but soon I realized that it was only using more energy, making me tremble and ache even more. I started to move again, but the second one hand stopped supporting me as it reached, the other gave out, my knuckles bending oddly.

I fell.

"AHHH-"

I plunged into the icy cold water on my back, knocking the air out of my lungs. Terror filled my stomach as I tossed around under the water, trying to inhale as I reached every way for the surface, but there was nothing to breathe but water. I was going to drown. I didn't even think real strings of thoughts. It was all instinct now. I thrashed in different directions, my eyes wide with fear in the burning salt water.

My left hand finally felt air, and I kicked myself up after it, gasping and coughing once I reached oxygen.

"Help!" I tried to call, but it was mangled, the end becoming shrill. I spun aimlessly, my eyes searching for the ship.

"Help!" I attempted again, this time a bit louder but cut short by a desperate cough.

My body was drained of energy, and my lungs couldn't seem to get the air to replace water. I barely noticed when my legs stopped treading water because I was clutching my stomach from coughing. I couldn't get the water out! Panic overtook me again, and I went under as I heard a splash, coughing even under the water, turning in downward twirls from the only made me inhale more water, and I thought about giving up and just sinking. I let myself go limp as blackness clouded my already watery vision.

Just then, two arms wrapped themselves under my shoulders, tugging my body the way I thought was to the side, but we emerged from the water.

I sputtered and coughed even more, my lungs now absolutely desperate for the air they lacked.

I barely noticed as I was yanked through water and pushed into a lifeboat that had been lowered from the ship. Yells could be recognized around me, the pirates either yelling at each other or yelling at me. I wasn't exactly paying attention as I coughed and jerked for my life.

My saviour pulled himself up next to me in the boat, grabbing me and holding me up because I had fallen over. He moved my hair out of my face so that I had clear access to air. The bandana had come off, but I didn't give a damn right now.

I felt water rush up my throat and out of my mouth, and I spat it all out, gasping loudly and shaking as oxygen entered my system again.

The panic slowly subsided as I sat kneeled over, and my body began shaking from the cold and effort to survive. I was exhausted, and slumped over against the man holding my hair. He didn't push me off as my head fell on his shoulder, and I was still slightly panting. I looked up to see the same green eyes from the night before, but I didn't really register it.

"Just breathe," I faintly heard him say, and I obeyed, shutting my eyes as the lifeboat was raised again and just taking in the feeling of living again. I heard him lightly panting from rescuing me.

I was lifted by a new pair of arms onto the deck. I heard Edward climbing out behind me.

"Will she be alright?" a person to the side asked.

"After a bit," Edward replied. I gave a slight cough, opening my eyes a bit to look around. The stars above me swam a bit at first, but then came into focus. I noticed the big guy from last night was now holding me and saw that many pirates had been awoken by the commotion and were watching.

"What should we do with her?" Edward asked someone. Uh oh...

I was suddenly very conscious about my pants and white shirt that were clinging to every inch of my skin, and my dripping hair hanging down. I wanted to squirm out of the muscular arms holding me.

"I'm not sure... Obviously, we can't put her back down there, God knows what they would do with her, so- oh, Carlisle! Thank goodness you're here."

I couldn't see who they were talking about because I had shut my eyes again once nervous tears had rushed to them, threatening to give my fear away.

"Bring her this way, Emmett," a voice, Carlisle, demanded, and we were moving again. I felt overwhelmed and numb, not only from the freezing waters but the lack of energy, too. But I had to stay alert now, or that close call would be for nothing. My weakness could be their gain.

We went into more light, and I opened my eyes as I was layed on a bed inside a small cabin room. Candles and an oil lantern were lit around us, flickering shadows on the wooden walls.

Immediately, I forced my arms to hold me up as I scooted against the wall, looking nervously at the four men in the room with me while trying to make myself look tougher than I felt.

They quickly noticed the fear, though, probably because I was shaking from exhaustion still, and overly relaxed their postures.

"It's alright. We're not going to hurt you," the younger blonde one said, holding his hands up.

Just because he said it didn't mean that he meant it. I didn't let my guard down. The other blonde that hadn't seen yet stepped forward. He looked older than the others, in his mid-twenties, probably.

"I'm a doctor. I just need to make sure you're alright. That was a close call."

"Carlisle, she hasn't been fixed-up from the battle yet," Edward said. "She was out before you got down there."

"Hey, Edward. Looks like you're not as good as you thought you were," a mocking voice from the muscle-guy that had carried me, Emmett someone had said, joked.

"I was nearly beat by a girl," Edward muttered. I found the energy to correct him.

"Not nearly... you were..." I whispered hoarsely, my voice trembling. Slight amusement came from them, but I remained still and cautious.

"Good, she can speak. Now, where are you hurt?" Carlisle asked me. I didn't reply, partly because my throat was burning, so Edward did.

"Well, I know that at least she got cut on her upper back, because I did it." It sounded regretful, which confused me. It was a battle. We had both done what we had had to. He turned to me. "What's your real name? It can't be Bert."

I bit my lip, thinking over whether I should tell them or not. I didn't want to make them mad by not telling them, so I did.

"Bella." My voice cracked, but they caught it.

"Well, Bella, I'm going to need to check the wound. It might get infected easily. Might already be, actually. I swear I'm not going to hurt you," Carlisle said, taking a step forward.

I glared at him, trying to recall if there was a weapon for it I needed it. I remembered I still had my knife in my boot, so very slowly and warningly, I nodded.

Carlisle rolled me over on my stomach gently and pulled my ruined shirt down over my shoulders, flipping my sopping hair out of the way. Normally I would feel self-conscious, but I really didn't care once the shirt was peeled off of the wound, yanking some skin and scab away with it. I hissed through my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to stop shaking.

"Jasper, go get her a clean shirt and pants," Carlisle said to the blonde guy after a moment.

Jasper left the room, nodding, and was back quickly with clothes.

"Now you three, get out."

"Why?" Emmett asked stupidly.

I heard Jasper whisper something and someone hit someone else.

Once they were gone with the door shut, there was a pause, and I got a bit nervous.

"Bella, I'm going to need your back to be bare to take care of this."

I hesitated before nodding, getting more and more tired and weak by the minute. Carlisle peeled my wet shirt off of me and untied the cloth around my chest without removing it.

Quickly he finished my back and asked if I had anymore wounds. I barely nodded, wanting just to sleep so I could quit trembling and nearly crying, and held the cloth to my chest as I rolled over again, showing him the one on my lower ribcage.

"This one looks like it'll take a bit longer to heal," Carlisle said quietly, cleaning the wound and wrapping a bandage all the way around my back.

He then helped me slip the dry clothes on that Jasper had brought, and said I would be sleeping here tonight until he could speak with the captain.

"I'm going to send one of the boys in to make sure no unwanted visitors cause trouble," Carlisle warned me. "Most of the men on this ship are decent, but you can never tell. They'd never pull anything, though." I didn't trust his word, really, but how was I going to protest? By now I felt like just handling it as it happened, and nothing was happening except me getting weaker and weaker.

I watched through sleepy eyes as he left and only a minute later, I saw Edward slip through the door, shutting it behind him and sitting in a chair by it.

"Go ahead and sleep. I'll just be here, and I promise I won't touch you."

I crawled under the thin sheets and fell asleep quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you very much for the reviews, reviewers! i kind of feel like this chapter is a bit bipolar. and i kinda feel like i update this story at a bad time, since its somewhat late. but. oh well. please read and enjoy!**

**oh.. and i forgot the disclaimer for the other chapters. so here's one for the whole story: I do not own any of S.M.'s characters or any other idea's associated with the Twilight Saga, but the plot is original.**

When I awoke, it was the blonde guy, which I soon remembered was Jasper, sitting in the chair by the door, looking terribly bored. I felt achey and my eyes kind of burned from the salt water, but it was mostly my throat that hurt. It burned, I guess from the intake of sea water and coughing, and I wanted to scream for water.

Before I could pretend to go back to sleep so I could think, he saw me.

"You're awake," he said. Duh. "How are you feeling?"

"Tirtshe," I replied, but my throat was so dry that you couldn't even tell I was saying "thirsty."

He looked at me, puzzled. I motioned to my throat.

"Oh... thirsty. I'll go get some water."

He stood up and left slowly, obviously trying not to freak me out, but I just wanted the damn water.

A minute later he returned with Carlisle and the man I recognized as the Dark Water's captain from the battle.

"Good afternoon, Bella," Carlisle greeted me as Jasper brought a worn out mug filled with water to me. I drank it all before I looked at the others again expectantly.

"Did that help your throat?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes," I was able to say now.

"Stay hydrated, and the rest will just take time to get over. Edward's still asleep, and he didn't use as much energy as you."

The captain took a deep breath before speaking.

"Well, it looks like we have some things to discuss, young lady," he said. "Now, I don't know why you were on that ship as a worker, but that's not what's important right now. What is important is what we're going to do with you. For now, we have decided that you'll just have to stay here. If we decide something different before we... reach land, I'll inform you. Even if I am a pirate, I have my limits, and I will try as hard as I can to get you out of this, but it's unlikely." Why couldn't he just drop me off at land? I was confused. And I still doubted his word. And how was I a limit?

"Why can't you just let me go?" I asked, glaring.

"It's a bit more complicated than that." Sure. Like I was really going to believe that he couldn't if he wanted to. He was the captain of the best pirate ship in the ocean. He could basically do whatever he wanted.

"But-"

"And that's that for now, but there's more," he continued. "I'm not going to make you go back down with the sailors. This will be your room, but you don't have to stay in here. I will not treat a lady like that." My glare hardened. I wasn't exactly a soft cuddle-bug. "Of course, that means that you'll be out with all of the crew. You'd better pick your company carefully if you go out there. And this room has no lock, just be warned. Just don't be stupid, I guess I'm trying to say." He looked at Carlisle. "Well, that's all I can say for now. Make sure her wounds heal properly."

"I will," Carlisle replied.

The captain strode toward the door.

"Oh, and I'm Captain Blair."

Once he was gone, Carlisle said, "I'll check in on you every day at least. Make sure to rest. Jasper, why don't you show her around some?"

I opened my mouth to protest, but couldn't.

"Sure. Come on, Bella," Jasper said, reaching his hand out to help me up. I glared at it and sat up myself. Just because the captain trusted them didn't mean I did, especially considering he was keeping me here and I didn't trust him.

I followed him outside, onto the deck where the sun was shining and the pirates were working. I waited for Jasper to go somewhere, but instead he spoke.

"Don't be intimidated by Captain Blair's words. He doesn't know the crew as well as he thinks that he does, and I say this just because he's in his cabin half the time, planning attacks." He looked down as he said this.

"Attacks that kill dozens of innocent men?" I pressed. "Because that's what they are. And their only purpose is so that you can get loot. It's disgusti-"

"Yes," he said, looking angry suddenly, and towering over me. I realized I didn't have a good weapon, really. "That is why we do it, but don't think that you know the half of it. You're just a silly girl that snuck onto a ship stupidly, nearly resulting in your death."

"I was the one who beat your pirate friend! And it's not like I had a choice about the ship. Don't think that you know me, and what the hell does being a girl have to do with this? Do you think that just because I'm a girl it means I can't tell whats stupid and what's not? My only stupid mistake was choosing _that_ ship to sneak on to, because everyone that I met was just murdered a couple days ago my heartless pirates!" My voice was raised now and I was in his face.

"Heartless? Why do you think-" he stopped midsentence, looking so enraged that he tugged his fist into his hair madly. As soon as the anger had appeared, it was gone, and then I realized I had fear on my face. I quickly tried to hide it.

"Look," he said quietly, moving close to me again. I used my willpower to keep from stepping back as we stared at each other. "What's done is done, and we both have our own motives behind what we did."

"Am I supposed to forgive you because you said that?" I whispered, and then jumped when a different voice answered.

"No," Emmett said. "Just get over it."

"Perhaps 'get over it' isn't the best way to put it, but still. You get the point," Jasper said. I didn't respond.

The three of us stood there for a moment, letting the spark defuse, and I noticed many pairs of eyes glaring at me. I wanted to glare back at each one of those killers, but I didn't have the chance.

"Come on," Jasper said as Emmett grabbed my wrist and began to pull me. I yanked my arm from his grasp, and he just shrugged his huge shoulders.

"This up here is the steering deck." Jasper pointed up some steep stairs before leading me another direction.

"That way up there is the look-out, or crow's nest, you might know it as." I bent my neck back, looking up a long rope ladder to it. It stood out against the blue sky.

He pointed out the lifeboat that I had been saved in last night, and other various posts for the crew.

"You don't really need to worry about those, though, considering you won't be working," Emmett remarked.

"Do you mean to say that I'm not capable of doing the work I've been doing for the past month?" I retorted. If that's what he was implying, he was very wrong.

"No. I have no doubt that you could handle the work. You did beat a damn good pirate, after all," Emmett replied, a small smirk playing on his lips.

"We just don't treat women like that, even if you can do it," Jasper said. "We're not as cruel as you believe." No comment. "But I am interested in how you beat my brother. He's got a reputation for being the most skillful on the ship."

"Brother?" My eyebrows scrunched as he refered to the green-eyed man I had almost killed.

"Oh, yeah, Eddie's our brother," Emmett explained. "He and I are blood related, but Jasper's been in the family as long as I can remember. Carlisle and... Esme adopted us all when we were teenagers living on the streets." Something we had in common. Except I was never picked up to be part of a family. "So Carlisle's our father, I guess."

"And we have to go down here to get to the kitchen," Jasper said, breaking the conversation. He led the way down the staircase that led two floors down to the prison cells, but stopped at the first down.

"Our stupid ol' cots are to the left, behind that curtain," Emmett said. "The curtain's only there to block the smell." He made a face.

"And here's the ruddy kitchen." Jasper said.

The kitchen was down a way. There was a big open space where tables were supposed to be, but weren't, and then we reached the kitchen. It was disgusting.

Bits of food were caked onto the single wooden splintering table, also on the wooden counters behind it. The "stove" was a metal pit with a large ceramic plate over it that was stained with food colors. There wasn't even wood beneath it to light.

"Water's in those barrels, but don't drink too much because we can't stop for more and we still have some time left before we reach our destination," Jasper warned.

"Why can't we stop for more?" I wondered aloud. Pirates did whatever they wanted. If they needed to stop for water, they should be able to.

He looked at me funny before answering.

"Same reason you can't get off the ship." Then, before I could speak, "And the food's over there. It's all that pile of dried and canned stuff. That's all the food we've got, too." It really was just a pile of boxes and cans.

I thought we were going to go back up to the main deck, but neither Jasper nor Emmett moved.

"Bella? Can you cook?" Emmett asked, breaking the silence.

I knew my confusion showed on my face. "No, I've never had to. Haven't had anyone to teach me, either."

They looked disappointed.

"Well, we've been doing something wrong with the food, because in the past two weeks, two pirates have gotten sick from it and died. I guess we were just hoping you could help with that, but oh well," Jasper explained.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"It couldn't have anything to do with the crappy leftovers on the surfaces and a bunch of filthy pirates making their own food," I said sarcastically.

I couldn't take the smell anymore, so I turned around and went back up the stairs.

As I stepped into the dimming sunlight, I collided with someone.

"Ouch," we both muttered, and I looked up to see Edward.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I was searching for Emmett and Jasper. Were they downstairs with you?"

I didn't have to answer because I heard them climbing the stairs and moved before they ran into me, too.

"Finally awake?" Emmett smirked at his brother.

"Yes," Edward repied before remembering something and looking at me. "And how are you feeling? Carlisle said he bandaged the wounds. Sorry about those, by the way."

I suddenly felt my stomach growl slightly in the I'm-too-empty-to-even-make-noise way and realized I hadn't eaten in over two full days, but I brushed it off for later, instead staring emotionlessly at the man in front of me. I was noticing the bronze color his hair was when dry, and the way he looked rather young to be a pirate but still held an experienced look about him. If he hadn't captured me, I might find him a bit handsome. Or a lot.

"Why should you be sorry?" I asked in a monotone voice. "You were trying to survive, I was trying to survive. And no offense, but I don't feel too bad for slicing your hip because it helped me live." I paused, thinking, and he waited. "Plus, you're a pirate. Get used to hurting people."

And then I turned and walked away, across the deck to the railing before we could get into another fight. I had simply said the truth.

I put my elbows on the wooden railing and leaned on them, staring out across the sea. Though I felt a twinge of fear, I told myself I was safe; these railings were up to my ribcage.

I was aware of the three pirates bickering behind me, but I couldn't make out the words and I didn't want to get involved.

Around me the other pirates were working, but not hard work it seemed.

"Hey," someone said, and I turned to my left to see a gruff man right next to me. "You that girl from last night? Heard ya scream. First sound of a woman's voice I've heard in months."

I couldn't decipher the motives behind this guy's actions, but I answered anyway.

"Well, maybe if you weren't a pirate the ladies would fancy you a bit more."

He was probably glaring, but I was looking straight out. A minute later he walked away.

After nearly ten minutes of standing there, staring at the copper sun's reflection in the dark and foreboding waters as it sank, I realized that the deck was more empty and that most of the pirates must have gone below the decks for some reason. But Emmett, Edward, and Jasper were still talking even though they'd gotten over their argument, and I wasn't ready to go back in that musty room yet.

And then I felt a wave of lightheadedness hit me. I knew I was about to pass out because my mind and my vision were cloudy. I didn't know what to do, so I turned around to ask the only people I knew for help, which was those brothers, and took a step towards them.

::::a a a::::

"Bella? Bella?"

Who would be waking me up from the deepest sleep I'd had in months, if not my whole life?

I blinked my eyes open, and slowly three concerned faces came into focus and I realized I must have passed out.

"Hhhh!" I sort of gasped as my head regained feeling, and pain throbbed in it from where my skull had connected in full force with the deck. My hands shot up to my temples and I tried to sit up quickly as tears rushed to my eyes, but a firm hand pinned my shoulder back down gently.

"Just stay down for a moment," Emmett said.

"What happened?" I asked, squinting back the tears.

"You got halfway across the deck to us and just sort of collapsed," Edward said. The last thing I remembered was taking that one step.

"I'll go find Carlisle to have him see what's wrong," Jasper said, but I already knew what was wrong.

"I haven't eaten in over two days. I just need to eat." I slowly sat up, the tears finally receeding.

"We should get her food and then we can find him," Emmett suggested. "Why were you crying?"

I glanced at him, a bit annoyed that he'd acknowledged that but not unsurprised.

"My head is killing me."

"Oh."

Edward scooped one arm behind my back and helped pull me up into a standing position. A wave of dizziness passed over me and I fell back on his arm. He helped me regain my balance, becoming what I leaned on for the second time in twenty-four hours, and I didn't push him off. In fact, I clung to his shirt with one hand as the four of us moved toward the stairs.

"Alright. Let's go get you some food."

**Tell me what ya think!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Just a reminder that this is rated T for language :P sorry for the crappiness of this chapter guys but i wrote it in a rush. maybe i could get at least one review this time though. cough. please. even if its just to tell me where i messed up (which i do appreciate so i can go in and change it).**

**again. sorry for the crappiness.**

When we went down to the "kitchen" all of the pirates were already there, each sitting on the splintery wooden floor with fat peanut butter sandwiches and bland chips. They were all talking and laughing, a loud buzz, and it surprised me. I'd never pictured pirates this way, happy and social. Some of them looked up as we came down, me still using Edward for support, but most of them were too immersed in their own conversations to notice.

"Since we don't have a cook, it's always a certain section of the crew's job to prepare some food. It's always like this," Jasper explained.

"Yeah. It is always like this. This is the _third_ time we're having peanut butter sandwiches this week," Emmett whined, rolling his eyes.

"Well one time they had jelly, too," Edward retorted. "Besides, there's not many options. We haven't reloaded in forever."

"Still."

I just focused on getting my footing right as we stepped around everyone to get to a now-small pile of sandwiches. The old looking chips were all over the gross table, but there were still some in a box.

"We don't have any plates, either, so we just use cloth napkins that we carry around," Jasper explained. Dang. This ship was poor for all the stuff they stole.

I reached forward to grab one.

"Take two," Edward said.

"But everyone else only has one," I replied.

"Yes. Well, everyone else has eaten twice today, too. Take two," he insisted, handing me another. Then he pulled out an off-white cloth from his pocket. "And use my napkin for the chips, since you don't have one."

"What about you?"

"I'm fine."

Then they got their own food, lowering the pile even more.

"Hey, Emmett!" someone called. "Over here!"

I saw Emmett grin before going over to a circle of men to eat with.

"Where do I-"

"Let's just sit with Jeremiah and them," Jasper suggested, answering my unfinished question.

We went all the way back to a circle by the stairs, Edward guiding me. I felt many pairs of eyes upon me this time, and blushed under their gazes.

"Can we join you?" he asked politely. The circle immediately opened up for us so we could join it, none of the conversation even slowing down. I sat right between Edward and Jasper.

"Now, eat," Edward demanded. I glared at him.

"Do not tell me what to do," I warned him. I wouldn't put up with that.

He shrugged and turned to the gruff man on his other side, starting conversation as he ate.

I finally bit into the sandwich, and soon enough I realized how hungry I had been, scarfing both of them down. I sniffed the chips before I ate them, though, because of how old they looked. In the end I ate those, too, and then I felt all better.

Jasper and Edward were still talking so I leaned back out of the circle some and looked around. A lot of these men looked young, in their twenties, even though there were some older ones. Every single one of them was well-built and strong, and I wondered what it would be like if they all fought each other instead of innocent, weaker people. And even though they looked strong, I could see that they were all worn and tired. It showed in the lines on their faces, in the way they constantly looked as though they were thinking about something else, in the dark circles under their eyes. Their choice to live a life of piracy and cruelity would definitely affect them badly. I didn't see any much older men, so they'd probably all died off already. It would kill them all, and though Emmett, Edward, and Jasper seemed nice enough, I would never forget the way they ruthlessly murdered my crewmates and nearly me just for our goods. That was how I would think of them.

"Bella?"

I turned my head to see Carlisle come over behind me.

"Emmett told me that you passed out earlier. How are you feeling now?" he asked, sitting down. He was young and strong-looking too, but still looked exhausted.

"Better," I answered emotionlessly. Pirate.

"I had her eat two sandwiches," Edward said, turning around to face us. I felt a bubble of annoyance. I could answer for myself.

"Good," Carlisle said. "Just make sure you get enough food, Bella. There are meals around sunrise, around noon, and around sunset. And I put a canteen for water in your cabin."

"Thanks."

"Are your wounds doing alright?" he asked. Again with the questions.

"Yup." Short and sweet.

"Well, the bandages will still need to be changed every day for about a week. I put the wrap on your bed, too, so be sure you do that tonight. If you have any questions, my cabin is one over from yours. Don't hesitate to find me." Typical doctor talk, it seemed like, but I nodded anyway.

He got up to go, but before he walked away, he whispered something in Edward's ear, who nodded, his eyes darting to me and then back. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him.

"What?" I asked once Carlisle had gone.

He looked like he was considering something.

"Let's go on up to the main deck," he suggested.

Go up there with him while everyone else was down here. Umm, no. I shook my head and he sighed in exasperation.

"Carlisle just wants me to tell you about something, and I shouldn't tell you it here."

I wanted to believe him, but I couldn't trust him. He was a _pirate_.

"Would it be better if Jasper went with us?" he asked, catching onto my fears. He saw me hesitate, so before I could disagree, he told Jasper we were going up to the main deck and that he should come, too.

And then I had no choice but to follow him up the stairs. I felt a lot less awkward now that I wasn't clinging to his shirt for balance.

We emerged onto the main deck to find that it was empty except for the man steering and two other crewmen, who were chatting on the other side of the deck.

I turned to Edward, one hand on a hip.

"What could possibly be so important that we had to come up here for you to tell me?" I asked.

He and Jasper exchanged a glance.

"Captain Blair keeps track of ships' movements, and his markings tell us that we're going to intercept a ship tomorrow," Jasper said. "There will be a battle."

My face hardened.

"So you're going to kill more people? Why the hell does it matter so much to tell me this?"

"Because you're going to be on this ship during the attack. I wouldn't suggest coming out during the fight. You might be mistaken by their side and killed, and don't even try dressing up like a man again, because then someone from our crew will just kill you. Or their crew. Either way, you'll die. So don't say I didn't tell you if you come out tomorrow during the battle and find that your life is about to be ended."

I just stared, turning over his words in my head, a plan already forming.

"The battle will be shortly after breakfast, if the captain's calculations are correct," Edward continued, "but you'll still realize when you should hide in your cabin."

A large group of men came up from dinner, talking loudly and cutting our 'conversation' short when one of them pulled Jasper away, and then I walked away from Edward to plan my get away. I sat down so that I was leaning against a post in the railing, looking out at the deck that was refilling with the crew.

The sun was already beneath the waves, so I couldn't see much in the moonlight, but I searched through my memory of everywhere I had been on this ship so far as my plan progressed, giving me a bit of hope that I might get off of this blasted ship in one piece.

I don't know how long I sat there, but after a long while, I felt my eyelids get droopy with sleepiness. I was still slightly weakened from yesterday. I was about to get up to go to bed, but I got sidetracked, thinking about the beautiful way the moon shone on everyone and everything, making even an evil ship look nice.

And then the moon's light disappeared when my eyes shut, and my chin hit my collarbone, and I was asleep.

::::a a a::::

When I woke up, there wasn't any moonlight. There wasn't even sunlight. Everything was dark except a sliver of light by the floor.

I shot up in bed. Where was I? I knew I had fallen asleep on the deck last night, but where was I now? What had happened? Who moved me?

I swung my feet over the edge of the cot and walked carefully across the rough floor, nearly tripping over my boots. I scrambled in the dark for the doorknob, and when I finally found it, I pulled the door open.

Dim light shot in, and I squinted against it.

Now that I could see, I turned and saw I was in the cabin they had given me, and no one else was here. I had on the same clothes as yesterday, thank goodness, and my boots were by my bedside. I pulled them on and yanked through my yucky hair with my fingers.

"Bella? It's breakfast time," Emmett said, and I turned to see him leaning in my doorway.

"Alright."

We went out onto the deck, and I could see the sun rising above the waves. It must be pretty early.

Then I remembered the fight and my plan, and I felt nervous with anticipation.

We headed downstairs to where it was busy, the men all eating hard looking bread and jam as well as slimy peaches, three men to a can.

"Sleep alright, Bella?" Emmett asked as we got our food.

"Too alright," I replied. "Who carried me into my cabin?"

"Wanna share a can?" he asked, shaking it. I nodded. "Edward did. Jasper tried to get him to wake you up to change the bandages, but apparently sleep was more important, so we just went with what he said. He's worked closer to Carlisle."

I felt the blood in my cheeks a bit, but it only got worse when we went to sit down and I sat across a small circle from Edward.

"How did you sleep?" he asked, and I thought everyone would listen in since we were across sides, but they didn't even notice. "You were sleeping on the deck for a while before Jasper noticed you."

"I'm fine," I said, taking a huge bite out of the hard black bread.

And that was that. I didn't have to talk anymore during breakfast.

After we ate (Emmett ate most of the peaches) I went up to my cabin again to change the bandages. The pirates' victims' ship had already been spotted in the distance, and I was running out of time.

I slammed the door shut and yanked Jasper's shirt over my head. I peeled the bandages carefully off so that nothing would start to bleed again, and wiped it off. I was able to get the wrap around the wound on my lower ribcage alright, but I couldn't quite reach the one on my back, and someone was knocking on the door.

Huffing, I pulled the shirt on and opened the door to see Edward, who had a sword in his belt and a jumpy look on his face.

"It's almost time, I just came to tell you." Crap. I was nearly out of time.

I yanked him into the room.

"Can you rebandage the wound on my back?" I asked.

"We don't have much time-"

I shoved the wrap in his hand and spun around, unbuttoning only the first two buttons on the shirt before spinning it around on me so it was still on but Edward could tend to the wound, which he did quickly and soon enough I was able to fix it and rebutton the shirt.

"Alright," he said, his cheeks actually a bit pink. I tried not to laugh. "Well, I'm gonna go. Stay in here. Do. Not. Come. Out."

I shut the door behind him and set to work, pulling my hair back on top of my head and tying a bandana around it like I had for a month. I then tightened the cloth around my chest as much as I could so that it was actually a bit difficult for me to inhale.

Outside, I could hear the men assembling.

I made sure that the knife was stuck in my boot.

And then I waited, hearing a rush beneath my floor. I didn't get that, but I didn't have time to ponder it, either, because I heard Captain Blair's voice saying the exact same thing to the poor other ship's captain that he said to my captain before destroying him. Give up and maybe live, or fight and surely die.

And, like my ship, the opposing crew decided to fight. I heard the first yells of terror and knew it was time.

I carefully opened my door, glancing outside at the battle. Every single man was engaged in a fight, and I briefly saw Jasper swinging his sword gracefully at a poor man.

It made me sick, and I knew the only way to get away from it was to continue with my plan.

Since everyone was so busy with their own battle, I was unseen as I crept over to the stairs that led below deck and headed down them quickly. I was a bit panicked, and I almost tripped, but I kept going.

I almost ran past the second floor under to the third, but something stopped me. It was the sight of the curtain that blocked the pirates' sleeping area pulled back. I could see all of the beds, and I could also see a lot of light.

So I paused my plan, going over there. A wave of sweaty smell hit me, but now I knew how the men had gotten onto my ship on the night of the first battle.

The light was coming from a large window that had no glass or anything to block it from a fall to the sea. A board was propped through it, making a bridge from this ship to the other ship, where a small window had been cut to be large enough for the pirates to fit through. That was why they pulled up so close to the other ship. This way all they had to do was scurry over there and wait for the captain's signal to attack by flooding onto the main deck from below, surprising the other crew and gaining a quick advantage.

Though I thought it was disgusting to trick the crew they were about to kill like that, this would be easier for my plan to work. I had been going to go out through a small window again and even possibly swim over there and climb onto the other ship to hide, but this was already done for me.

Hesitantly, I climbed onto our end of the board, and slowly, slowly, I climbed out so that I was over the water. Above me cries of pain and terror could be heard, as well as the clashing of swords. I didn't look down as I crawled across the ocean to the other ship, but I was still relieved when I climbed reached the window into the other ship.

I was almost in there when the other end of the board cracked a bit, throwing me off balance.

"Huhh!" I gasped. My arm flew back to grab the edge of the ship, but my upper arm whammed into it, and I heard my arm crack. I held it there and it supported my weight as I climbed all the way through into a nice room with a rug and a bed. My bandana had fallen off, but I couldn't do anything about that.

I breathed a sigh of relief when my feet were solidly on the ground, but I didn't have time to rejoice yet. I hadn't made it all the way.

Up above, the pirates were cheering. They had won, and any second they would be flooding down here to dig out goods.

I heard the footsteps and took the first hiding place I could find: under the bed. It was a tight squeeze, but it was all there was time for.

The door burst open right as I pulled my right foot under, and two men came in, talking happily about what a nice ship this was and how much expensive stuff they'd find. I wanted to stab their feet with my dagger, but I was too afraid. If these pirates saw me, I would be carried right back to that pirate ship to be sold as who-knows-what. I'd rather row all the way back to land, which was what I planned to do once the pirates left this ship. I was going to find the kitchen, take the food and water I could, and row and row and row in the lifeboat.

I was also afraid of what they'd do to me if they found out what I did.

I waited for about half an hour of men carrying things out and shuffling outside in a small hallway. This really was a nice ship, and many things were being taken.

Finally things started to settle down, and I couldn't hear footsteps. All I could hear was the board that made the bridge being pulled back onto the damned pirate ship that I had escaped from and loud talking from their ship.

When I was absolutely sure it was safe to come out and that the pirates were about to take off, I crawled out from underneath the bed, feet first, which was a bad idea. I wacked my head against the bed frame.

"Owwwwwwww," I groaned, clutching it and kneeling there.

"Bella? What... How?"

I turned around, my eyes wide with fear, to see Emmett standing in the doorway.

Shit.


End file.
